Silly Girl
by TheCivilState
Summary: "That's because I do, you silly girl."  Elena wonders if Stefan is right when he says Elijah looks at her differently.


_You were almost there, almost mine_

"Elena, may I have this dance?"

She allowed Elijah to lead her onto the floor, doing her best to ignore the way Damon glared or how Stefan stepped closer to the dance floor. Mrs. Lockwood had spared no expense for her son's birthday and a live band was currently playing a more mellow tune.

"You're a good dancer," Elena said, for lack of anything else to say. For all she knew, Elijah could have invented a few dances.

"Centuries of practice," he said off-handedly as if it wasn't a big deal he was an Original vampire. And if Elena thought about it, she supposed it wasn't, at least no to him.

"Enjoying the party?" It was light conversation or more morbid topics because that seemed to be the norm whenever they were around one another. Elijah smiled politely at her, recognizing her attempt and indulging it.

"Not the most enjoyable I have been to, but not entirely unpleasant."

"What is the most enjoyable party you've been to?" She didn't really mean to ask, choosing to avoid questions regarding his past, but this one had slipped through her filters. She found herself watching Elijah's smile soften as he remembered a fond occasion.

"There was this little girl," he said, "Simone was her name and she was born in 1912. She had been adopted by one of Klaus' witches and was celebrating her sixth birthday in New Orleans that year. I had stopped by to see her guardian the day before and little Simone insisted I come to her party. I had never been to a child's birthday and enjoyed it immensely."

"You must have been fond of her," Elena said, "You're smiling and I rarely ever see you smile." His grin did not falter at all as he spun Elena away from him before pulling her back into his arms.

"She is a delightful girl," he said and Elena's brows knit together.

"She's still alive?" That was when Elijah's smile fell and Elena knew they had crossed the line into morbid territory the way they always did. It seemed there was no way to escape it.

"Yes," he said, "Simone was made a vampire at far too young an age. It really is a cruelty to turn someone so young and the majority do not transition well or at all. But Simone did."

"How old was she?"

"Fifteen." Elena felt her heart break a bit for the young vampire who would forever be a very young teenager. It made Caroline's lot in life seem less unfortunate.

"Are you still in contact with her?" Elijah nodded, his frown only deepening.

"Of course. Her creator had no intention of caring for her, so I became her mentor. She is to me what Violet was to Finn; a surrogate daughter. She is a very dear, little creature." Elena smiled at the image being conjured in her head. She could very easily see Elijah playing the doting, protective father of a young vampire eternally trapped in a youthful body.

"I'd like to meet her." The words slipped out before Elena could catch them and she worried she had crossed another invisible barrier. After all, this wasn't Elijah's siblings they were discussing, siblings who were playing an active part in Elena's life. This was his adopted daughter, a girl entirely separate from his family. What if he didn't want her involved in that part of his life?

"I would like that greatly."

_They say love ain't fair, but I'm doing fine_

"Brother, could I steal you from your partner for a moment?" Kol was speaking to Elijah before Elena even realized he was there. Elijah didn't seem to happy, but Elena squeezed his hand reassuringly and stepped out of his embrace.

"I'm going to see if I can find Caroline," she said, nodding politely at Kol before turning away from the dance floor. When she looked back, Elijah was still staring at her and smiled when he caught her eye. She gave a small wave before mingling with the crowd on a bogus mission to find her friend, who was probably busy getting reacquainted with her boyfriend.

"Looks like you two are getting cozy." Elena's glare was in place by the time she turned to see Stefan, who was carefully watching her like it was still his right. Which it most definitely wasn't.

"We're friends," she said, "So you can keep your theories to yourself."

"Oh, they're not theories," he said, "Not with the way Elijah looks at you. And I should know. I used to look at you the same way." Caroline appeared at that moment and said something about dresses and emergencies and something to do with shoes and a date with Tyler at some point in the near future. Elena couldn't really hear anything over the roar of Stefan's words.

Did Elijah really look at her a certain way? Did he really care for her? Was it possible?

Was it too much to hope?

_And I swear it's you_

_That my heart beats for_

_And it ain't gonna stop_

"It appears your ride has abandoned you," Elijah stated as he helped Elena on with her coat. She shrugged and belted her jacket, burying her hands in the deep pockets as though it wasn't a big deal she had been left at the Lockwood mansion and was now standing a foot away from the Original vampire Stefan claimed was in love with her. Or interested. Or felt a mild curiosity towards. Not love. Certainly not love.

"I'll drive you home."

She accepted his offer because she didn't have any other options, or at least she told herself that. And she continued to tell herself that the duration of the drive home, snuggling deeper in the passenger seat as the car warmed. Elijah clearly didn't understand how much heat was necessary for a human to be warm, but Elena wasn't complaining. The warmth was a nice contrast and she could feel herself falling asleep.

"We're here," Elijah said, hand resting gently on her shoulder to summon her awake. Elena took one look at the great distance between her current position and her bed and groaned.

"I do not want to walk upstairs to my bed," she said, and to punctuate the point she burrowed deeper into the seat. There was a soft chuckle before Elijah was opening her door and slipping his arms around her.

"I never said I would make you walk."

She tried to remind herself to breathe as he lifted her and carried her inside. It was all pointless really, because he could hear her heartbeat thrumming away and doing a jig and dancing a polka and joining the drum line of the high school. Her heart was a one organ marching band and she was pretty sure even she would go deaf from the sound.

But then she was being placed in her bed and sleep was singing to her again and she couldn't care that she'd be falling asleep in her coat and party dress. She didn't care about anything except sleep and Elijah's hands that were tucking her in. Before he could withdraw, she grasped one of his wrists and held in him place, carefully examining his face and looking for what Stefan had seen.

"You do look at me differently," she concluded before letting out a spectacularly large yawn that amused Elijah.

"Different how?" he prompted and watched the sleepy smile spread across her face. He had to commit sleepy Elena to memory. She was quite the adorable creature.

"Like you're in love with me," she yawned before curling onto her side and falling to sleep faster than he had believed possible. Not that he was complaining for he was rather certain his slack jaw was anything but attractive.

Recovering, he pressed a kiss to her temple before smoothing back her hair and flicking on her nightlight.

"That's because I do, you silly girl."

_I swear it's you_

_[song fic inspired by "Won't Stop" by OneRepublic._


End file.
